By Tom O'Neill
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When it comes to teen drivers, a federal agency wants to increase the age of their adult supervisors and decrease the number of teen passengers they can have.

Miami Township police officer Roy Tissot directs traffic at Milford High School. Several schools have police on site before and after classes as a safety measure. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

Many states have done just that in recent years, with mixed results. Now, the National Transportation Safety Board is expanding the effort, targeting 14 states - including Ohio and Kentucky - for what it considers their insufficient graduated-licensing laws for teen drivers.

Auto crashes are the leading cause of death for teens nationally.

If the NTSB's recommendation on teen-passenger limits was in place in August, four Goshen High School teens might be alive today.

"It's never going to go away for us, we've lost something we can't replace," said Virginia Schnelle of Miami Township, Clermont County, whose granddaughter, Tasha, 16, was one of the four passengers killed.

The driver was a schoolmate; a front-seat passenger was charged with causing the crash.

"When kids get together, they think nothing can touch them," Mrs. Schnelle said Thursday, stopping in mid-sentence. "But it did."

OHIO LICENSE LAWS

Study after study has revealed that the likelihood of a teen driver being involved in a crash goes up with each additional passenger. A 2000 Enquirer study of young Tristate drivers, examining five years worth of crash records, showed drivers under 21 were twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as the overall driving population, and 2.5 times more likely to be driving at an unsafe speed at the time. The most tragic stretch this year locally: two weeks in August and September when Tasha and six other teens were killed in three crashes involving teen drivers. As was the case over the five-year period the Enquirer examined, the majority of those killed during those three weeks were not wearing seat belts. A temporary permit can be obtained at age 15 1/2. The permit is valid for one year, and must be held for at least six months prior to becoming eligible for a probationary (also called an intermediate) license. Temporary permit holders must carry their temporary permit and an identification card with them while operating a vehicle. Temporary permit holders under age 16 must be accompanied by an "eligible adult," which is defined as a parent, guardian, legal custodian, licensed driving instructor or a licensed driver age 21 or older acting in loco parentis. The eligible adult must have a valid driver's license and occupy the front passenger seat. Temporary permit holders age 16 or older must be accompanied by a licensed driver age 21 or older while driving. The adult must occupy the front passenger seat. All vehicle occupants under the age of 16 must wear safety belts when being driven by a temporary permit holder. The number of occupants is limited to the total number of originally installed safety belts. Source: Ohio Insurance Institute

Both Ohio and Kentucky are among the 35 states with graduated licensing, in which teen drivers are restricted in the number of passengers and hours of day they can drive.

Only 20 have restrictions on the number of teen passengers a teen driver can have, including Ohio and Kentucky, but the NTSB believes it's not enough. It wants to restrict novice drivers from carrying more than one passenger under 20, unless there's an adult 21 or older present.

"Ohio's laws are a little weak," said Kevin Quinlan, the NTSB's director of safety advocacy. "Graduated licensing is a parent's best friend. And passenger restrictions, it's just common sense."

Joe Andrews, spokesman for Ohio Gov. Bob Taft's office, said the governor hadn't seen the NTSB recommendations and therefore didn't want to comment.

"It's not just experience," said W.J. Neary, owner of Drive-Rite, which has three driving schools in the Tristate. "Students have to start wearing seat belts." He also said the overwhelming majority of students he sees want to be careful drivers, but are often undermined by their parents' driving habits.

Still, driving instruction is far more stringent than it was a decade ago. And some teens see the NTSB plan as just piling on young drivers because it's easy.

"I think they could get a little carried away with stereotyping teen drivers," said Valerie Resnick of Clifton. She's 15‡ and about to get her learner's permit.

Still, she and friend Caylen Hanover, 16, of Clifton, agreed with restricting the number of teen passengers. "That's a good point," Valerie said. "I agree with that."

Devore Brown, a driver for Tri State Taxi, has been making his living on the road for 34 years. His grandkids are 20 and 19, ages that would be subject to changes if the NTSB recommendations are adopted.

"I think they appreciate the privilege of driving, but you know there are exceptions," he said.

In September, the Ohio State Highway Patrol stepped up monitoring of high schools before and after school, the two most common time periods for teens to crash.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Officepatrols all or parts of 10 communities. Most, including Anderson and Colerain townships, have high schools. Officers have contracted with several schools to direct traffic before and after school, and believe their mere presence gets teens to slow down and pay more attention to the road.

"But when they're out of sight," sheriff's spokesman Steve Barnett said Thursday, "who knows?"

E-mail toneill@enquirer.com